Imperfection
by Bluehaven4220
Summary: It was never simple. My relationship with Don Flack was never simple. I couldn’t say that it was easy either. There were so many times I wanted to strangle him, but there were times that I loved him too. FlackOC COMPLETE!
1. Tangled

**Title: Imperfection**

**Author: Bluehaven4220**

**Summary: It was never simple. My relationship with Don Flack was never simple. I couldn't say that it was easy either. There were so many times I wanted to strangle him, but there were times that I loved him too.**

**Reviews: yes please, I LOVE reviews.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, blah blah yada.

* * *

_What was simple is now complicated_**

_And all the plans we made just seem outdated_

_Oh ooh Oh_

_Now hearts are breaking_

_And hopes are dying_

_Why do we always end up crying?_

_Tangled- Jane Wiedlin

* * *

_

It was never simple.

My relationship with one Detective Don Flack was never simple. I couldn't say that it was easy either. There were so many times I wanted to strangle him, but there were times that I loved him too.

There were times I was sure he loved me.

When his mentor was accused and busted for being a dirty cop, I was there to mend his broken heart, and he loved me.

When we went to the department Christmas party that same year, I went with him, and he loved me.

When I got pregnant a few months later, he loved me.

When I gave birth to his daughter, named Charlotte, he loved me.

Each day he would come home and tell me about the case he worked that day. But there's one I would never forget. It was about a 19 year old who had been shot because she wouldn't give the baby to the birth father.

It seemed like an open and shut case. Baby's father had accidentally shot his baby's mother when he only meant to scare her into giving him their daughter. But then he told me it wasn't like that, not at all.

This girl was deaf. The whole family was. The fact that this girl was murdered struck me to the very core. Maybe I should tell you why.

I'm deaf too. I can't hear my baby cry, I rely on my instincts for that. When Don comes in the door from a long day at the precinct, I feel the vibrations through the floor. When the phone rings, it goes directly to my pager, which is always attached to my belt. When Don and I first started dating I could only lip-read, and when I answered with a lisp he realized that I was deaf.

I proceeded to tell him that if he didn't want to be seen with me because I embarrassed him, then he could leave and he wouldn't have to feel guilty. No strings attached; no hard feelings.

Cupping my face with his hands, he spoke slowly, so that I could understand him.

"Angela," he told me, again, slowly so that I could read his lips. "I wouldn't care if you were blind, deaf, and wheelchair bound all in one." He leaned in and kissed my forehead. "I would _never_ abandon you because you're different."

That single statement brought tears to my eyes. I never thought Don Flack would be able to say such a thing. A few of my friends thought he was commitment- phobic; preferring his job to dating women. I wasn't expecting the guy to drop to one knee and propose right then and there, no, absolutely not. I was, however, impressed with the way he presented himself around women.

He was respectful, though I have to admit the line he used to ask me to dinner was pretty funny.

"Hi,"

I nodded, letting him know I had acknowledged him.

"My name's Don Flack."

I pulled out a notepad, flipped it open, clicked my pen, and wrote. _I'm Angela Baker._

I saw his lips move.

"You know, I feel like Richard Gere, 'cause I'm standing next to you, the Pretty Woman."

I chuckled and shook my head. Writing on the notepad again, I smirked at him. _Are you trying to ask me out?_

"Yeah."

I smirked again. _Sorry, bub, I'm not Julia Roberts, and I'm _definitely _not Pretty Woman._ I closed my notepad, packed up my books, got up, and walked away from him.

I'll admit I could still see his lips move as I passed in front of him. "Come on, how bout drinks after work?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, my hair flipping as I turned to face him. I shook my head, gave him a sly smile, and walked away.

That's how I first got his attention.

* * *

Now, I'll tell you, we were at the department Christmas party, and he was smiling the entire night. Even for a deaf girl I wasn't stupid. I could lip read, and I noticed the other women whispering, and looking at me.

_What? Did I spill champagne on myself?_

Finally, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Don came around my chair, his hand still on my shoulder, and bent down in front of me.

_Angela, _he signed to me.

Wait a minute, Don could sign?

_I wanted you to know that I couldn't be happier with you in my life, and I can't imagine life without you. You're my miracle…_

My hands went to my mouth.

_Will you marry me?_

Tears streaming down my face, I nodded yes. He pulled a ring box out of his jacket pocket, opened it, and revealed a ring. It was a simple ring, but then again I wasn't one for extravagance. Everyone in the room knew I wouldn't be able to hear their applause, so, in respect, they all raised their hands and twisted their wrists, the sign that they were applauding.

We got married in a tiny chapel in Yonkers, where Don had grown up. The congregation had been so accepting of me. They even offered services in ASL and since most of Don's friends could understand it, they had no problems.

Just because I'm deaf doesn't mean I live in a world of silence. I just experience the world differently. My sight is extraordinary, and my sense of touch is unlike anyone I know. I can literally touch something and feel the vibrations it gives off. That's how I figured out I was pregnant, aside from all the morning sickness I experienced.

Eight months later, at 37 weeks gestation, I gave birth to Don's daughter. With her big blue eyes and dark hair, just like her dad, he named her Charlotte Leila Flack.

From the moment Charlotte was born I could tell Don loved her. She was his little girl, but he began to look at me differently. He still saw me as beautiful, but I didn't think so. I wasn't as beautiful as I'd been before I was pregnant. I still thought I looked fat, and ugly.

Don, being the sweetheart that he is, took over bottle feeding Charlotte while I worked on my writing. On his days off, he took her to the park. When my book finally got published, he was my interpreter, while Charlotte slept in her car seat beside us.

I remember the day he brought her to work with him. Well, I drove her there, and carried her in my arms as we went through the precinct doors. We were stopped at the front desk, and Charlotte, not yet knowing how to sign, asked me where Daddy was.

"Right here, Princess," he came strolling toward us. I read his lips.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she screeched, running toward him and jumping into his arms.

The smile on his face, you could have melted to see how much he loved his girl. Charlotte, thankfully, had not been born deaf. I had been teaching her to sign, so that I could better communicate with her. For now, since she was still very young, I lip read.

Don reached out and took my hand. The three of us went back to where Don's desk was and introduced our girl to his coworkers.

"What do you say we finish up here and go to lunch?"

Charlotte's face broke out in a smile. She loved going out with her dad, and I didn't want to deny her that right, not at all.

So why, when I signed those papers a year later, did it hurt so badly?


	2. Sand in My Shoes

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters belong to me, song belongs to Dido, haven't we been through this already?**

**Reviews always welcome and very much appreciated.

* * *

**

_I've still got sand in my shoes  
And I can't shake the thought of you  
I should get on, forget you  
But, why would I want to  
I know we said goodbye  
Anything else would've been confused _

_But I wanna see you again_

_Sand in My Shoes- Dido_

_

* * *

_I barged into Mac's office, about ready to rip his head off. I was the one who had given him my casebook when my partner, Dean Truby, went down as a dirty cop. Because of that Clay Dobson's conviction was overturned, and he was back out on the street. He'd already killed one girl, Emma Pierce, and now he was after another girl. He'd kept her hidden, and it was almost impossible to find her. 

Clay Dobson had a vicious M.O. He would keep these girls, petite, brunette, a lot like my wife Angela, hidden, and when he was ready to kill them, he would cut their eyelids off so that his face was the last they saw. Emma Pierce's head, he'd wrapped in packing tape to make it nearly impossible to identify her, and I couldn't help but be furious at the fact that at any moment I know that it could have been Angela if I wasn't careful.

"Are you having fun saying 'I told you so'?" Mac asked me.

_Oh if you could only understand just how much I wish I could split your lip open right now Mac._

"No," I answered. "But do you realize how close Angela could have come to Clay?" I bit my lip. "Angela's a brunette, she's petite, that's Clay's preference, and above all she's deaf! If Dobson got his hands on her do you know what would happen?"

"I don't have…"

"She's deaf, Mac! She wouldn't be able to scream! He'd kill her and then taunt me with her body!" I could barely control myself. "If we don't get him it's not only this girl, but my two girls could be next."

"Two?" Mac answered. "Angela and…"

"Angela and Charlotte, Mac. Who else would I mean?" I nearly shouted. "He won't just stop at Angela; he'll go for Charlotte too." I could feel the tears forming in my eyes. "I worked too hard and for too long for my two girls to see that shit bag kill this girl and then go after my wife and daughter."

"He hasn't even touched those two," Mac tried to reason with me. "How do you know he would do it?"

"Oh believe me, he would," I answered. "He knows I'm connected to you Mac, he won't stop until we make him stop." I fought the tears back. "I gave you my case book and that got his conviction overturned. If he does anything it's on my head, and I'm shit out of luck."

"All of the convictions through Truby will probably be overturned, Don. Dobson's was just first in line."

"You know, that's great…" I replied, sarcasm dripping through my voice. "Just imagine how many murderers and child molesters we're going to have out there thanks to that case book."

"Hey!" Mac brought me back to reality. "We'll get him, and we'll lock him away for good this time."

"How are we gonna get him?"

"We find this girl, and then we corner him."

* * *

I went home to Angela and my daughter that night, and I held her as tight as I ever had before. I was never going to let anything happen to either of them. If Clay Dobson came anywhere near Angela or Charlotte I'd kill him with my bare hands, job and badge be damned. 

Angela could tell something was wrong. Before we went to bed that night she asked what this guy was capable of. Of course, I had never hidden anything from her, so I told her the truth. I told her that she was his type; brunette, petite, and because she was deaf she was more vulnerable. I told her that Charlotte was vulnerable because she was a little girl, and since they were connected to me I worried for their safety.

"If you like, we could always stay at my mother's for a while… until this guy is off the streets." she signed.

_That wasn't a bad idea. _"How far from New York does your mom live again?"

"She's in New Jersey." Angela signed to me.

"Good, that's far enough. How's about packing Charlotte and yourself a few bags and heading out there as soon as is humanly possible?" My sin language had become progressively better since I'd married her. I was able to communicate with her in full, complete sentences, unlike before, when my sentences were choppy and slow.

"Now?" she asked. "Don, are you out of your mind?"

"I want you and Charlotte to be safe…" I insisted. "Dobson is dangerous, and if he gets a hold of you we're both done."

"I won't leave you here alone."

"You're the mother of my child, Angela. You're my wife! Please, make sure you and Charlotte are safe. First thing tomorrow I'm going to drive you two to Jersey and you stay with your mom. Please?" I begged her. "I never want anything to happen to you. If I lost you I don't know what I'd do." I brought her lips to mine and kissed her.

"Okay," she caved in. "Tomorrow we'll go to my mother's."

She packed her things and Charlotte's diaper bag, and early in the morning, the three of us drove to New Jersey.

"Daddy, I don't want you to go!" Charlotte begged me as I kissed Angela goodbye and gave my thanks to her parents for taking them in on such sort notice.

"Charlotte, honey, it's only for a little while."

"Daddy no go!" she insisted, wrapping herself around my leg, making it physically impossible for me to move.

"Charlotte," I bent down and kissed her forehead. "I promise, it's only for a little while. Daddy will be back tonight." I pried her off my leg, walked back to the car, and pulled away from the driveway.

I was left with the image of my little girl crying in her mother's arms.

The tears sprung to my eyes as I drove back to New York. If Mac and I didn't get Dobson this girl was done, and Angela and Charlotte would be next.


	3. Your Guardian Angel

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance) This chapter is again told from Flack's point of view. Thank you so much to my reviewers, I truly appreciate it.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome

* * *

_I will never let you fall_**

_I'll stand up with you forever_

_I'll be there for you through it all_

_Even if saving you sends me to Heaven_

_Your Guardian Angel- The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

* * *

_

Now I have nothing to worry about, well maybe I do.

Clay Dobson is dead.

But Mac is going to go down for it.

The only thing is, I don't think he did anything wrong. He had had Dobson in custody sure, but only Mac and Dobson know what went down on that rooftop. Thanks to the frenzy the media is kicking up on this case Mac's become the scapegoat.

He's always been there for the team, and now someone had to be there for him.

And little did I know, or even expect, who it would be.

Angela and Charlotte came back to New York a few days later. Charlotte could see the look in my eye as I lifted her up and hugged her tightly. My eyes closed as I breathed in her little girl scent. Strawberries and peaches, that's what I smelled, like the fresh ones you find on the trees and vines somewhere in the fruit orchards of California.

I was ecstatic to have my wife and daughter back in my arms. Angela told me of all the nights that I wasn't there, how Charlotte would not sleep unless she knew for sure that I would be okay. Angela stayed up with her all night, signing lullabies to her.

* * *

I had crashed on Danny's couch for more than 10 days. I didn't know if Clay Dobson would do it again; if we would suddenly be answering a call to discover another body wrapped in packing tape.

We weren't, but I still insisted that Angela and Charlotte stay in New Jersey until we knew for sure that Dobson wasn't going to strike again.

I remember the phone call that finally revealed that my family could come back to me. I jumped into my car and drove to Jersey right away.

"Don, what's happening?" Angela signed to me as she opened the door and I took her in my arms. When she looked at me again there were tears forming in my eyes. I cupped her face in my hands as she moved and let me into the house. I leaned forward and kissed her.

When I pulled away I let go of her.

"Dobson is dead…" I told her, my hands flying faster than they ever had before. Of course, I didn't tell her that he'd either thrown himself and fallen backwards off the roof of an office building. It didn't matter… all that mattered to me right now was the fact that my girls were coming home.

"What?" she asked.

"Clay Dobson is dead," I repeated.

"Does this mean we can come home?"

I nodded.

Her face broke out into a big smile and she jumped into my arms. I steadied myself as I wrapped my arms around her, something I'd taken for granted before, but now I realized just how much something so simple could mean to someone.

Angela, Charlotte and I drove back that day. Angela settled Charlotte back into the apartment while I went back to work. I wasn't particularly happy that I couldn't stay with my wife and daughter at home for the day, but it was my job, I had to provide for my family.

I'm sure everyone in the precinct noticed just how elated I was. I felt the colour in my cheeks return, and I was more eager to do my job, because I had the love of my life back.

I had been so scared for their lives that I had sworn to kill anyone or anything that may have caused them harm. No one touched my girls and got away with it. As we went in search of Dobson all I could think about was how much Angela and Charlotte meant to me, and the sooner I got this fuck bag off the streets the sooner my wife and daughter would be back in my arms.

When Clay Dobson's lifeless body fell from that office building on to the windshield of my police cruiser, I looked up and saw Mac's stoic face.

Two things went through my head. One, what the bloody fuck had just happened? Had Clay Dobson just landed on the hood of my car? And two… would my wife and daughter be home by the end of the day?

Now, as Mac's trial is set to go through as part of an Internal Affairs investigation, I've been subpoenaed. As I lay in bed with my wife I'm not sure what to think. I came so close to losing her and now I'm about to lose a boss?

"Don?" Angela nudges me in the arm as I turn on my side to face the window, away from her. "What's wrong?"

She didn't speak very often; she found it uncomfortable, especially with her lisp. I know she means well, and, as I don't hold anything back from her, I tell her exactly how I feel.

I roll over so that my hands have free reign.

_I was so scared I would lose you,_ I signed. _If anything ever happened to you I don't know what I'd do._

"You won't lose me," she insisted, kissing me thoroughly.

"I love you, Angela Sharon Flack."

"And I love you, Don," she signed to me before kissing me again.


	4. Let Them Be Little

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance) This chapter is told from Angela's point of view, and you get to see just how wellt he team gets along with each other. Thank you to all my reviewers, I really appreciate it.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Billy Dean, haven't we been through this already?**

**Reviews always welcome

* * *

_Please let them be little,  
'Cause they're only that way for a while.  
Give 'em hope, give them praise,  
Give them love every day.  
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,  
Let 'em sleep in the middle,  
Oh, but let them be little._**

Let Them Be Little- Billy Dean

* * *

It was Charlotte's third birthday a few weeks later, and Don and I rented a table at Chuck-E Cheese. Charlotte had begged us for a "big girl party" with her friends from daycare. We gave in, and now we were standing around a table filled with three and four year olds, Charlotte's cousins, birthday cake, pizza, and balloons.

Don had a smile on his face the entire day. After all, Charlotte was his girl… he would walk to the ends of the Earth for her. When she opened her gift from the two of us her smile radiated from one side of the room to the other.

We'd gotten her a giant plush Nemo fish pillow.

I swear, she could watch Finding Nemo a million times and never get tired of it. She repeated lines from the film like I signed to clients when closing a business deal. Now, as she got up from her chair and raced over to us, she jumped into her dad's arms.

"Thank you Daddy, thank you thank you…" she squealed.

Don kissed her on the cheek. "Go say thank you to your Mom too…" I read his lips as he set her down. "Remember what I taught you?"

I saw her smirk, and smile as she walked over to me. She tugged on my sleeve, and I bent down to look at her.

Slowly, and unsteadily, she very carefully signed. _Thank you Mommy, I love you._

I scooped her up in my arms and hugged her tightly. When I set her down, and she went back to join her friends at the table, I hugged my husband around the waist.

"You taught her to say that?"

He nodded.

I had just rested my head on his shoulder when I felt a vibration from his pocket. His cell phone was ringing… not good, especially on Charlotte's birthday. I could see his eyes grow wide and roll as he fished for it out of his pocket.

"Flack…" he answered.

His eyes changed shape in concern. "When?"

His eyes narrowed as he listened. I diverted my attention to see our daughter blow a noisemaker in her friend's face. They both laughed.

"Uh huh…" he murmured, covering his left ear with his hand so he could hear what they were saying. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can…" He brought his hand down to grasp mine. "Oh, and Stella," he said, "I'm sorry, I really am." He hung up as I grasped his hand even tighter.

When he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and let go of my hand, he told me what had happened.

"Someone did a hospital job on Mac…" he signed.

My hands flew to my mouth.

"He can speak, slowly and in whisper tones, but he's asking for Charlotte…" he told me.

If Mac was asking for Charlotte in his time of need how could I refuse him? As soon as all of Charlotte's friends went home we packed up the car and drove straight to the hospital. Don held Charlotte's hand while she carried her Nemo pillow in the other. We came upon Stella waiting outside his hospital room, her thumbnail between her teeth.

"Auntie Stella!" Charlotte called as I went ahead of them and hugged her tightly.

"Can we see him?" I read Don's lips.

"He's asking for Charlotte…" Stella repeated, the tears welling in her eyes.

Don nodded, gripped my shoulder, and went with Charlotte into the hospital room to see Mac.

"Uncle Mac?" she asked.

Mac turned his head to face her. He smiled as she approached his bed.

"Hey sweetheart," he reached out and ran a knuckled down her cheek.

"Daddy told me that a very bad man hurt you…" Charlotte buried her cheek into her new plush toy. "Are you going to be okay?"

Mac smiled, the IV still stuck in his hand.

Don watched as Charlotte climbed up on to the bed to sit beside Mac. She rested her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she pushed herself up and her eyes fixed on Mac's old scar from the war.

"What happened Uncle Mac?" she asked.

"That was a long time ago…" he answered. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Oh…" Charlotte sat up and grabbed a book out of my hand. "I wanna read you _this_ book…" she informed him, making herself a nest under his arm.

I could see Don chuckle. No doubt Charlotte had no idea how to _really_ read Go Dog Go, but the gesture was cute in itself. She cracked open the book and ran her finger along the lines, slowly and carefully sounding out each word.

When Charlotte had finished the book, I could see her looking from Mac to her plush toy and back to her uncle. Suddenly, my eyes locked with Don's in stunned amazement.

Were we _really_ seeing what we thought we were seeing?

Charlotte climbed off the bed, without Nemo clamped under her arm. We left the hospital room and went to stand with Stella, who was still keeping a faithful watch over Mac.

"Charlotte, honey," Don bent down to face her. "Aren't you going to take Nemo?" I was still able to see that he was signing and speaking to her at the same time. We decided it would be a good, clean, and simple way to teach Charlotte sign language. Little by little, she'd pick up on it.

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "Uncle Mac needs Nemo more than I do…"

Tears welled in my eyes. My little girl was willing to sacrifice her favourite toy so that Mac could heal? I had never realized how big a heart my three year old daughter possessed until this very moment. She had no knowledge of medicine or hospitals, but…

I think she'd just done more for Mac than any kind of medication ever could.


	5. Someday

**A/N: This chapter is a little shorter, but there's a reason for this: Flack finds out what is troubling Angela, and we see a side of him that we aren't exposed to very often. Thank you to my reviews, I truly appreciate it.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Nickelback, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome

* * *

_How the hell'd we wind up like this?_**

_Why weren't we able_

_To see the signs that we missed_

_Try to turn the tables_

_I wish you'd unclench your fists_

_And unpack your suitcase _

_Lately there's been too much of this_

_But don't think it's too late_

_Someday- Nickelback

* * *

_

Angela and I had always said that if we had any problems, we would talk them out like responsible adults. Surely we were old enough and mature enough to do so… weren't we? Well, today, actually for the past few months, we seemed to be falling apart at the seams. I couldn't stand to be around Angela and she couldn't stand to be around me. We were snapping at each other, stepping around each other, actually I think she threw a glass at me before I went off to work.

I couldn't concentrate on work that day. Even Mac noticed that something was wrong. As much as I tried to hide it, it was obvious. My eyes were bloodshot, my tie was loose, my hair was mussed, and I felt dizzy. I tried my best to think of what was going on in this little interrogation booth, how if we got this bastard it would be one less drug dealer on the street, but I couldn't.

I left the precinct that night expecting everything in the house to be empty and trashed, but it wasn't. Angela was patiently waiting at the kitchen table, a bottle of water in hand. We needed to talk this out… it was important. I sat down with her and looked at her solemnly.

"Angela…"

She held up a hand. Clearly it was her turn to speak. Until she was done I had to listen.

"Don, I'm sorry," she signed to me. "I know it was wrong… I'm not sure what it was, but something's changed…" she stopped.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Things aren't the same as they used to be…" she signed to me again. "We're too very different people, Don, but maybe we're too different."

I shook my head. I wasn't sure what she meant by this. Did she want to talk this out? Did she need some time to think about it? What did she want from me?

"We can't keep this up anymore," she signed. "It's no good."

I shook my head. What was she talking about? We had our struggles, all couples did, but we always worked through them. What made this time so different? Why was this different from any other fight we'd ever had?

"It's been happening too often," she told me. "We're arguing all the time; it's not good for Charlotte to hear us…"

"So we've hit a rough patch," I broke in. "We've hit rough patches before, and we've always come through them…"

"But this time, it's the worst it's ever been," she had tears in her eyes. "I threw a glass at you; I've _never_ done that before…" Angela was close to crying. "Don, I'm so sorry… I've got to tell you…"

I waited patiently.

"I'll _always_ love you, Don, you gave me Charlotte, but…" I was still waiting. "But I'm not _in _love with you anymore." She pushed something toward me, stuck in a manila envelope.

Divorce papers.

She wanted a divorce.

I felt the tears welling in my eyes. I couldn't believe what was right in front of me. Had my wife just handed me divorce papers?

How had it ended up like this? Had we really been in this much trouble, and I just hadn't seen it?

I got up, and retreated to my study in the basement of the house.

And I cried.


	6. Buying Time

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is from Angela's point of view, and yes, I know a lot of reviews for the last chapter insisted on no divorce, but it's essential for the plot development. If you would, please stick with this story and you will see where the divorce takes the Flack family. Please continue to review, feedback is always very much appreciated.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Great Big Sea, haven't we been through this already?**

**Reviews always welcome**

**

* * *

**_For years and years you can drift along_

_And write another verse to an endless song_

_Wait one more day till the time is right_

_Hoping that you'll both see the light_

_You won't see the light…_

_Buying Time- Great Big Sea

* * *

_

So I guess this is the point where you first met me, isn't it? _So why, when I signed those papers a year later, did it hurt so badly? _Does that sound familiar? It should, because I said it.

It hurts me because Charlotte saw our marriage deteriorate. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that she heard our fights, she heard our tears, she saw the shards of broken glass on the floor after I'd thrown it at her dad. I'm sure she doesn't understand what's going on, not very well anyway.

"Charlotte," Don and I sat her down at the kitchen table the next morning. "I know you know that Mommy and Daddy haven't been getting along for a long time…"

She nodded her head and looked down at her shoes. "It scares me…" she whispered.

"I know," Don reached over the table and took her hand. "And Mommy and I have decided that it's best if we don't scare you anymore, because we love you and we don't like to scare you…"

I saw Charlotte give him a small smile.

"Mommy and Daddy still love you very much," he was signing and speaking to her at the same time. "But we don't love each other anymore, and Mommy and Daddy have decided that we're not going to live together anymore."

"But where am I going to live?" was her first question.

"Well, Mommy and Daddy think that you can live with both of us."

"At the same time?" she was confused.

"No honey, what Daddy means is that you will stay with Mommy on the weekends, and Daddy will take care of you during the week." He answered her with a small smile back, but in his eyes, I could see his heart breaking.

Charlotte nodded her head. I don't think she _really_ understood what this meant. I wouldn't see her except on the weekends, and I was willing to suspend my belief that I was okay with this. _This is what's best for Charlotte… it's best for Charlotte._

I moved my things out of the house the next day and into my old apartment (I'd kept it in my name for times that either of us needed it for work or a weekend away), sat down on my bed, and cried.

I could not believe I was going through with this. I thought I had it all. A great marriage, a loving husband, a gorgeous little girl, all I'd ever wanted was right in front of me. What had we done to end up like this?

What had we ever done wrong? What had he seen in me to make him fall in love with me? Don Flack was the most loving and accepting man I'd ever known, yet I couldn't bring myself to love him anymore.

It was best if we got a divorce. I know, I know, there are all these statistics about children growing up in one parent households, but if Don and I could remain friends for Charlotte what did she have to lose?

"Mommy," her image appeared on my video phone. The phone had been a Christmas present from Don, so that I could better communicate with her, since she was still very young and was just learning sign language. "Mommy, do you not love me anymore?"

It tore my heart in two. How could she think such a thing? Don and I had explained to her that we still loved her very much, but we didn't love each other anymore.

"Of course I love you," I insisted, "you're my little girl…"

"Then come home," I could see tears forming in her eyes. "I miss you."

"I miss you too, honey," I told her. "Mommy has to go now, baby, but I'll see you when you come to see me on Friday night, okay?"

"Okay," her face contorted into tears as I ended the call. _This is what's best for Charlotte; it's what's best for Charlotte…_ I grabbed my jacket and drove to work.

At least when I was at work I didn't have to face Don, at least, not officially. It hadn't been a problem until we got a call from Charlotte's daycare center that there had been an incident and could we please attend this impromptu meeting as soon as was possible.

Don came to my office and told me as soon as he got the call. If this was one time we had to put aside our differences and do what was right for our daughter, we would.

"What happened?" Don asked and signed to me as we sat with Leanne, Charlotte's daycare supervisor.

"Mr. and Mrs. Flack, I should tell you, Charlotte's become very aggressive with the other children, more so in the past few weeks. I've never seen her exhibit this type of behaviour before. I'm trying to establish a link here, have there been any big changes at home?"

She wasn't intending it to be rude, but could this have anything to do with our divorce?

"Oh," Don interpreted for me. "I moved out of the house and into an apartment," I shook my head. "Mr. Flack and I are in the middle of divorce proceedings."

"And, again, I have to ask," Leanne began. "Has she adjusted well to the change?"

"It seems so…" Don answered. "This is the first time I've heard of her exhibiting any aggressive behaviour, and we're on good terms. She lives with me during the week and with Angela on the weekends…"

"Perhaps this is a delayed reaction?"

"In a three year old?" I wasn't sure if such a thing existed. How could Charlotte be having delayed reactions? We'd gone through what was happening with her many times, and I understood that divorce was traumatic, but I'd been assured that if Don and I kept on good terms, Charlotte would adjust.

"It's entirely possible, Mrs. Flack," Leanne told me. Again, I knew she meant well, so I kept my mouth shut. I looked over at Don; while his flew in interpretation he was biting his tongue.

I used to be able to tell what he was thinking just by looking at him, but now I couldn't.

I couldn't tell what my child's father was thinking as we left the daycare center with Charlotte in tow, and it hurt.

This hurt more than I could ever imagine, and if it could hurt me, a 29 year old working mom, and if it could hurt Don, a hardened detective and doting dad…

Imagine what this was doing to our daughter.


	7. Away From the Sun

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view. For those who may be confused later in this chapter, Stella _is not_ with Mac as may have been implied in an earlier chapter, she was just the first to respond to the scene. I have paired her with someone who may surprise you, but keep in mind this is a small part of the story. In this chapter you get to see how difficult its gotten for the Flack family.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to 3 Doors Down, haven't we been through this already?**

**Reviews always welcome.**

**

* * *

**_And now again I've found myself  
So far down, away from the sun  
That shines into the darkest place  
I'm so far down, away from the sun  
That shines to light the way for me  
To find my way back into the arms  
That care about the ones like me  
I'm so far down, away from the sun again_

_Away from the Sun- 3 Doors Down

* * *

_

I'm going downright bonkers here. Charlotte doesn't sleep at night, I'm up with her singing lullabies and rocking her to sleep; so far her favourite seems to be "Mr. Sandman". I swear I've sung that song over twenty times in the past three days.

I don't know what to do. It's funny, I find myself asking Danny for help more and more. He and Stella got engaged last year, and they have a little boy named Edward Nicholas Messer, who's about two now. I find that I'm asking him whether or not Edward had the same sleeping problems that Charlotte's having, and whether or not it's normal.

"Well, Flack, buddy, think about it…" he sat with me and Stella at my kitchen table while Edward and Charlotte sat under a blanket on the floor in front of the TV, watching Finding Nemo. "You and Angela are going through a… D-I-V-O-R-C-E… and she doesn't understand what that means."

"I know, I know that, Danno…" I exhaled sharply. "I know what this is doing to my girl, but I gotta know if this not sleeping at night is normal…"

"At three? Course it is… little girl nightmares are setting in, she gets scared… lotta kids do."

"Okay, alright…" I ran my hands through my hair. My eyes were itching, probably because I haven't slept in a while, maybe 3, 4 days? I love my girl, but this is getting to be too much. I gotta work 15 hours a day and come home to a little girl who's having sleeping troubles. Poor soul, she shouldn't have to deal with this.

"Daddy!" Charlotte tugged on my sleeve. "Nemo is over…"

"It is?" I asked, feigning amazement.

"Yeah…" Edward came over and stood beside her. "The whale almost eated them again, but then he blew them out through his head!"

I chuckled as Danny picked up his son and sat him on his lap. "That's called a blowhole, Eddie," he placed to cups of juice on the table. "Here, have some apple juice, you two."

"Thank you, Uncle Danny," Charlotte reached over and drank it down. Soon, I had to get Charlotte home… she had to go to Angela's the next day.

We tried, Angela and I, we really did. We tried so hard to make it work, but in the end, we couldn't. As I said before we've tried to remain friends for Charlotte's sake, but of course we're going to have our disagreements. We're parents, we're going to disagree on certain things no matter what it pertains to.

When I packed her overnight bag and poured her into bed, she opened one eye and said "Don't forget to pack Ellie."

She meant her stuffed blue elephant, Ellie. I'd won that for her at the NYPD police fundraising fair last fall. Guess whose idea it was to make the fundraiser a fair?

Angela's.

"I won't forget," I went to the toy box in the corner and fished out the stuffed animal. "See, I'm putting her right into the side pocket." I zipped it up, and leaned in. I kissed my daughter's forehead and smiled. "See? Now you won't forget her."

I saw her smile.

"I love you Daddy."

"I love you too, baby." I closed her bedroom door behind me. "Sleep tight."

I think that night she slept the whole night through.

* * *

I dropped her off at Angela's the next night, and immediately she ran into the living room and pushed the play button on the DVD player. What else would be in that machine besides… you guessed it… Finding Nemo. Angela stood at the door, her eyes fixated on me. 

"Does she have Ellie?" she signed to me.

"She's got Ellie," I signed in conformation.

"Okay," she leaned in and gently kissed my cheek. "See you on Sunday Don," she signed and closed the door.

As I drove away from Angela's apartment building, I found myself drifting off into my own thoughts. I thought about Angela, and Charlotte, and the toll that this was taking on all of us.

No one said it was going to be easy. We both knew that going into our marriage we were different, and we were going to have to work at it. But somehow, it all fell apart, and we couldn't make it work.

If we hadn't had Charlotte to think about I'm sure we both would have split our assets down the middle and said goodbye, never to lay eyes on each other again.

But we can't do that, we don't have that option.

We have to think about Charlotte.

But right now, I just want to forget.

And I suddenly find myself standing in front of Ground Zero, holding tight to the chain link fence that separates the debris from the city, from me.

I close my eyes and feel myself stiffen.

I know the tears are coming, and I let them fall.

And I don't care who sees it.


	8. Tears and Rain

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is from Angela's point of view, and I think you'll see _exactly_ how she feels about losing the one person we thought she'd spend the rest of her life with.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to James Blunt, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome

* * *

**

_How I wish I could walk through the doors of my mind;  
Hold memory close at hand,  
Help me understand the years.  
How I wish I could choose between Heaven and Hell.  
How I wish I would save my soul.  
I'm so cold from fear._

Tears and Rain- James Blunt

* * *

I really thought I had it all when I married Don Flack. He was the most wonderful man I'd ever met. I'd never known anyone to accept me as he had. He'd taken my deafness not as something to run from, but as a challenge. He accepted that challenge, learning sign language so he could communicate with me. 

I remember the first time we made love. It wasn't just sex; it was more… much more. He was the first person to ever wait while we were in bed and ask me what I wanted. How did I feel? Was I willing to tell him what I wanted? Was I in pain? When I felt myself contract around him I felt utter joy and completion. Someone had actually considered my feelings as I lay in bed with them.

Nine months after that night Charlotte was born.

I remember just how elated Don was to be a dad. Holding Charlotte for the first time and cutting the cord, as soon as that connection was severed she immediately became Daddy's girl. She had him wrapped around her little finger.

When we told her we were getting a divorce her eyes welled up with tears. It hurt me to see her like that. I put her to bed that night, and as I rolled into my own bed with no one beside me (Don had moved to the couch); I heard her talking to her doll, her 'Secret Sophie'. Well, "hearing", for me, involved reading the scripted words on my video phone. I kept it on all night, in case Charlotte ever needed me

"Mommy and Daddy don't love each other anymore," she explained to the doll, her words appearing on my screen. "They said that they aren't going to live together anymore."

My heart shattered in three places.

"If Mommy and Daddy aren't going to live together anymore, Daddy says that he's going to take care of me, and that I'm going to see Mommy on the weekends…" I heard her sniffle. "I don't want to live with just my Daddy. I want to live with my Mommy too."

Tears were streaming down my face.

"Why don't Mommy and Daddy love each other anymore?" She asked the doll. "Is it because I did something wrong?"

_Oh no honey_. I thought to myself. _You did nothing wrong_.

"I'll see you in the morning, Sophie…" she whispered as she rolled over, hugged Sophie tightly, and curled up under her blanket.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

That was a few months ago, and things have gotten a little better. Don and I have both explained to our daughter that yes, Mommy and Daddy don't live together anymore, but she didn't do anything wrong, and we still loved her very much.

Don and I were officially divorced now, with joint custody of Charlotte. Our custody arrangement was the same as we'd worked out when I first presented him with the papers. He had Charlotte during the week, I on the weekends.

It was much simpler this way.

But now, I realized, he was officially single, and he could start dating again. I was free to do the same, but I don't think either of us is ready to take that step. We both agree it's too soon to do so, and it's too hard on Charlotte.

As much as you think we're bitter toward each other, we're not. Surprisingly, we got along a lot better as single parents than we did at the end of our marriage. We talk things over like civilized human beings, we shower our daughter with love and affection, we smile when we transport her back and forth; we try our damnedest.

Her aggressive behaviour at daycare has calmed since Don and I explained to her what was happening. We'd explained before, but I don't think she'd really heard us until then. She'd adjusted to the change well. It was good to see that she was so used to staying with Don during the week by the time our divorce became final. As a result we decided to keep it that way.

I'll always love Don, he's the father of my child, and, contrary to what my mother says (her opinion changed drastically when Don and I divorced), he is not just a sperm donor. He's done more for Charlotte than I believe any other man ever could, and I don't believe he does it because the court says he has to, he does it because he loves her.

I can't deny that I still have feelings for him… of course I do. I can still look back and see the day that I first met him, the day he asked me to marry him, the first time we made love; I can still see our first _everything's._

And it hurts.

It hurts to think that I won't be able to share that with him anymore.

It hurts to know that eventually, Don _will _move on.

And I know it won't be with me. It didn't work the first time…

So why the hell would I assume it could work a second?


	9. In My Daughter's Eyes

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is very fluffy, and full of cute little Charlotte Flack fluff too, and you'll get to see who I've paired Lindsay with (any guesses?). Again, not a major part of the story, but it's an interesting little tidbit.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Martina McBride, haven't we been through this already?**

* * *

_In my daughter's eyes I am a hero  
I am strong and wise and I know no fear  
But the truth is plain to see  
She was sent to rescue me  
I see who I wanna be  
In my daughter's eyes _

In My Daughter's Eyes- Martina McBride

* * *

It was six in the morning on a Saturday, and I had Charlotte for the weekend. Angela had had a seminar for her book publishers to attend in Detroit, and she and I both knew that it would be too taxing on our three and a half year old (Charlotte _insists_ that I say three and a half, because, as she says, _I'm not three, but I'm not four either, I'm THREE AND A HALF). _I laugh every time. 

As my alarm buzzed I could also hear the pitter-patter of footie pajama covered feet coming toward my bedroom. She creaked open the door, crawled on to my bed, and shook my shoulder.

"GERALD!" she insisted.

I moaned and rolled over to see her staring at me. Angela was right; she really _does_ look like me…

"Huh?" I mumbled.

"GERALD!" she insisted again. "It's time for Gerald, Daddy."

"Gerald who?"

"Gerald McBoingBoing!" She knocked me on the head. "Silly Daddy, you know it's Gerald!"

"Oh," I rolled over and pulled on an old t-shirt I used as a pajama shirt. "Okay…" I picked her up and carried her back downstairs to the living room. I set her on the couch, flipped the channel to Gerald McBoingBoing (at least it's not as irritating as some of the other shows intended for kids, and she's learning something too. Yesterday she growled at me like a tiger would, reminds me of the case where Lindsay first joined the team. I'd sneezed, and Mac chastised me for it "Flack, you're all over my crime scene". I apologized and blamed it on allergies, which was true; I'm allergic to fur, which is why Charlotte has a pet goldfish and not a puppy. She wanted a puppy for her third birthday. The Nemo fish pillow worked in its place), and went into the kitchen.

I set to mixing pancake batter. Pancakes were a daddy-daughter thing for Charlotte and me. The first time we made pancakes was the morning after Angela moved out of the house. I asked Charlotte if she wanted blueberry or banana pancakes. Excited, she smashed the two words together and called them "bluenana pancakes". Ever since then "bluenana pancakes" have been our special breakfast. We don't have them _every_ day, sometimes it's muffins, or a bowl of fresh strawberries, and something outrageous that she's never tried before (we once had leftover Chinese rice for breakfast. I'd live on that stuff though my Police Academy training, but she thought it was the best thing since sliced bread).

Charlotte once told me that Angela had her eat Multi-Grain Cheerios every morning when she was there on the weekends. Angela's got our daughter eating fogey food! I have nothing against Multi-Grain Cheerios, and Angela is a _great _mom but what kid wants to eat Multi-Grain Cheerios every weekend? _Variety_, woman!

As Charlotte comes into the kitchen, she smiles and motions for me to pick her up. I do, and she reaches for the spatula.

"Can I flip it now?" she asks.

"Hold on…" I point to the pan and have her look. "See, when there are little bubbles, and the bottom of the batter is firmer, you can stick the spatula underneath it," I took her hand and guided her through the art of flipping a pancake. "Ready? One… two… three!"

Our hands turned with the spatula and the half-cooked pancake flipped over in the pan. Okay, so it looked more like a mini-omelet with the way it had flipped but the smile on her face… I melted.

"I flipped the pancake!" she squealed. "Daddy, I did it! I flipped the pancake!"

I chuckled as my little girl jumped down out of my arms, leaving me to finish cooking.

"I wanna call Uncle Danny and Auntie Stella, can they come over for breakfast?"

I smiled to myself. "You have to ask Auntie Stella if it's okay, and if she says so, then yes, it's okay with me."

"Can we have a pajama day?"

"Should we tell Uncle Danny and Auntie Stella and Edward to come to breakfast in their pajamas?" I craned my neck to look at her.

I saw Charlotte nod her head feverishly.

"Okay…" I turned my attention back to the pancakes cooking in the pan.

She giggled as she spoke to Stella on the phone. "We're having bluenana pancakes for breakfast, Auntie Stella, can you come?" she nodded. "Uh huh, and it's a pajama day, so come in your pajamas please…"

She hung up the phone a few minutes later. "Auntie Stella says there better be _lots and lots_ of bluenana pancakes, because she's hungry and she likes them too!"

I laughed again. Charlotte could always put a smile on my face, even when I still missed her mother terribly. Angela had meant the world to me, but I knew there wasn't any hope in getting her back. We were done; it had been established long ago that there was no hope for us any longer.

A knock at the door brought me back to reality. Charlotte opened the front door to let her aunt and uncle, still dressed in their pajamas like she'd asked them, in.

"What's this I hear about bluenana pancakes?" Danny mumbled, obviously just waking up, holding Edward in his arms. "And Flack, what the Tickle-Me-Elmo is a bluenana pancake?" Tickle-Me-Elmo was the phrase used between the lab and those closely associated with the team (i.e. myself, or Sid down in the morgue) in place of words like _hell _or _damn, _or _fuck_, or any other unpleasant word. In respect for the children who were frequently visiting us (i.e. Edward, Charlotte, and Lindsay and Hawkes' little boy Paul), the entire lab had taken to using Tickle-Me-Elmo in place of swears.

"Smash up some banana and blueberries into pancake batter, cook it up in the pan, and _boom, _you got some pretty Tickle-Me-Elmo good bluenana pancakes for breakfast."

"Aw right!" Danny set Edward down in the closest chair in the kitchen and rubbed his hands together. "Let's try these bluenana pancakes!"

Charlotte giggled. "Daddy makes the bestest bluenana pancakes in the world… he's my hero!"

In the kitchen I bit back tears. Charlotte reminded me so much of Angela it was nearly painful, but Charlotte always reminded me that daddy-daughter days were supposed to be happy days, and the only tears allowed were happy tears.

Well, today I can honestly say, as I sit down to breakfast with my daughter and my friends, that I'm feeling happy tears welling up.


	10. Somewhere Out There

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is again told from Flack's point of view, because this whole chapter takes place on a Monday, when he has Charlotte. Something happens to a main character, and you'll see the outpouring of emotions from someone who's not quite used to them.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Our Lady Peace, haven't we been through this already?**

* * *

_Down here in the atmosphere  
Garbage and city lights  
Gonna save you're tired soul  
You're gonna save our lives  
Turn on the radio to  
Find you in satellite  
I'm waiting for the sky to fall  
I'm waiting for a sign _

Somewhere Out There- Our Lady Peace

* * *

After dropping Charlotte off at daycare the following Monday I went into the precinct with the notion that this was going to be a normal day. 

Okay, what defines _normal?_

Let's just say I was hoping for something that didn't involve fifty million dollar drug busts or a girl with her head wrapped in packing tape.

Well I didn't get either of those, but it wasn't a walk in the park either. I ended up stuck at my desk with a shitload of paperwork I'd been neglecting. Couldn't be chasing the bad guys all the time, could I?

I think it was about one in the afternoon when I got a call directly to my cell phone. That didn't happen at work very often, so something was definitely up.

As I'm sure Angela has told you, we have video phones, it's the easiest way to communicate. I turned on the screen and saw Angela cowering in the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" I signed.

"Damon is trying to kill me…" she frantically signed.

"We'll be right there…" I grabbed Danny, Mac, and Lindsay, as well as backup and we busted down the door of her apartment, where we found Damon knocked out on the floor.

I flicked the lights to let her know we were here. She crawled out of the bathroom, her face bloodied and bruised.

"Oh Angela…" I went to her and bent down with my arm around her shoulder. "Did he touch you?"

"He tried…" she told me, her lisp more pronounced as she spoke. Like I said she didn't like to speak very often, it was very uncomfortable.

"Did you do that?" I signed, indicating Damon. I looked over and saw he was beaten badly, and there was blood rushing from his ear. He was dead.

Thank God.

She nodded as tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't know who else to call..." her hands flew as she tried to explain herself.

I held up my own hand to stop her. Bending down, I picked her up and carried her out to the waiting ambulance as Mac and Danny secured the scene. I'd never liked the guy… and when Angela had gotten to know him a little better I _really_ started to dislike him. He seemed controlling, and even Charlotte had told me that he scared her. I guess Angela hadn't realized just how much he would affect their lives, or how much her relationship with Damon was hurting Charlotte.

As I carried her to the ambulance I couldn't help but think that I was carrying my baby girl in my arms. Charlotte wrapped her arms around my neck as I carried her up the stairs each night, and I was carrying Angela the same way. I could feel her body beginning to relax, but she was still very tense. She turned her head at every little step, or if she felt someone behind us.

She went off to the hospital in the back of the ambulance, and I followed in my squad car. As I drove, I called my mother, Stephanie.

"Hey Ma," I greeted her. "Can you pick up Charlotte from daycare today?" I listened to her response. "No, I hafta work late…" Again, I waited. "No, Angela doesn't have her till the weekend…" Waiting, waiting, waiting… "I'll pick her up from your place as soon as I can, thanks Ma. I'll call her daycare; let 'em know what's going on."

I ended the call to my mother and immediately dialed her daycare center.

"Hello, Manhattan Beach Daycare Center, Elizabeth Rankin speaking…"

"Hi Elizabeth, its Don Flack calling…" I had to remain professional here.

"Hi Don, what can I do for you?"

"Yes, well, I have to work late tonight, so Charlotte's grandmother will be picking her up."

"Okay, let me just find her file here," there were sounds of a drawer opening and papers rustling. "Alright, Stephanie Flack is her grandmother, correct?"

"Yes."

"Okay, she's listed as alternate pick-up, yeah, that should be no problem…"

"Alright then, thanks Elizabeth."

"Take care, now." She hung up the same time I did.

About half an hour later, after she'd been stabilized, I was sitting with Angela in her hospital room, a breathing tube up her nose, her cuts stitched, and her eyes puffy.

"Does Charlotte know?" she signed.

I shook my head. "My mom is picking her up after daycare today."

"Does _she_ know what happened?"

Again, I shook my head no. "I told her I had to work late." I signed, handing her two aspirin and a cup of water. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"Aren't you too close to the case?" she asked. "I thought family members couldn't interview family members."

"In this case, I just want to know what happened." My hands were flying. "Ex-wife or not Angela, I still care about you a great deal…"

Angela exhaled sharply. She knew I had never stopped caring about her, and I never would. She was the mother of my child, and I would always love her for giving me such a precious gift. As my wife she had loved me and stood by me through tough times.

And now, even as her ex-husband, it was my turn.

It was my turn to be strong for her.


	11. Strawberry Wine

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is a little shorter, but there's a reason for this: it's told from Angela's point of view, and it finally reveals a secrettht people have been pushing to see revealed. Do you think you can guess what it is? I'll give you three seconds:**

**ONE... TWO... THREE!**

**Ha ha, thought I was going to tell you, huh? I'f you want to know the secret you have to read on.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Deana Carter, haven't we been through this already?**

* * *

_He was working through college on my grandpa's farm.  
I was thirsting for knowledge and he had a car.  
I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child.  
When one restless summer we found love growing wild.  
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path.  
It's funny how those memories they last.  
Like strawberry wine and seventeen.  
The hot July moon saw everything.  
My first taste of love oh bittersweet.  
Green on the vine.  
Like strawberry wine._

Strawberry Wine- Deana Carter

* * *

After Don and I divorced I thought I'd be alone for the rest of my life. I was sure no one would ever accept me as he had, and I was prepared to live with that.

Then I met his new girlfriend Elizabeth Rankin.

She had red hair down to her shoulder, and she was a sweet woman, but for some reason she bothered me. She ran Charlotte's daycare center, I'd met her before, and she'd never given me a hard time.

Yet I couldn't explain why she bothered me so much. Could it be the fact that she was dating my ex-husband? No… he was my _ex-_ husband, emphasis on ex… he could date who he wanted. Was it the fact that I thought she was more beautiful than I was? No… I hadn't had those types of issues since I was in high school… Perhaps it was the fact that she was spending time with my daughter?

I think we just hit the nail on the head there.

Elizabeth spent time with my daughter each and every day, at the daycare center. I didn't appreciate the fact that she was spending even more time with her outside of said building. Don and I would always discuss these things… for Charlotte's sake, but he hadn't come to me regarding Elizabeth.

Maybe he wasn't that serious about her.

Was he just looking for a fuck buddy in her?

If that was the case then I was a little more relieved. But if I knew Don, he wouldn't be using someone just for sex… he wasn't _that_ type of guy. If he was going to have sex with you than he was serious about the relationship. Now that I knew he was seeing Elizabeth, on Friday, when he dropped her off for the weekend, I asked him to come inside.

He did, and as Charlotte went off to play in her room, it was then I finally mustered of the courage to ask him about her.

"What's this thing you've got going with Elizabeth?" I asked. He had waited for about six months until I was fully recovered from Damon's attack before dating again, but I'll admit, it… kind of broke my heart.

"I like her…" he admitted to me.

"What does Charlotte think?"

"I don't know, Elizabeth is still a new presence, but she'd tell me if there was something she didn't like about her."

I nodded. Charlotte was a smart girl. She'd told me that there was something about Damon that she didn't like, but I hadn't listened. I'd convinced myself that underneath his tough exterior was actually a good guy, and Charlotte had said it was an act (in simple, three year old terms, mind you). I'd been too stubborn to believe her.

"Is it serious?" I asked.

Don seemed taken aback. I saw him shake his head, and then his smile got me again.

"We haven't gotten that far yet."

"So you haven't slept with her?"

"No…" he insisted. "I don't sleep with someone the first couple of dates in."

"You did with me." I countered. It was true; Don and I had slept together on our second date. Like I said he was patient with me, and it was then I knew he didn't just want sex and then to run on to the next girl.

"Because I knew I loved you, I still love you."

My mouth dropped open. Had Don Flack just admitted that he still loved me? The look in his eyes let me know he wasn't lying. You could tell a lot about a person by the way their facial expressions changed in response to questions. I had always been able to tell what Don was thinking, especially in emotional situations.

I almost couldn't believe he still loved me.

When I'd handed him divorce papers I'd said the same thing. _I'll always love you…but I'm not _in love _with you anymore._

I lied.

I was still in love with him, and I knew it.


	12. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view, and I'm sure all my reviewers will be happy to see what has happened. **

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Elton John, haven't we been through this already?**

* * *

_You know you can't hold me forever  
I didn't sign up with you  
I'm not a present for your friends to open  
This boy's too young to be singing the blues_

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John

* * *

If you had asked me ten years ago if I wanted kids, I would've dodged your question whenever I could.

If you had asked me five years ago if I wanted kids, I would've told you to sit back and wait cause it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon.

If you had asked me four years ago if I wanted to get married and have kids, I would've jumped at the first opportunity.

If you asked me a year ago whether I thought I'd be divorced with a three and a half year old daughter, I would've told you to kiss my ass.

Funny how life changes, huh?

I wanted my daughter to know that Elizabeth did not replace her mother at all. I tried to work it out with her, I really did. Elizabeth loved children, but couldn't have any of her own, which was fine… I didn't want another one, Charlotte was trouble enough. Not to say that my little girl is trouble, no, but… ahhh… I lost ya, didn't I?

I taught Elizabeth basic sign language. She wanted to communicate with Angela, let her know that she wasn't trying to take her place, but rather she was trying to become _friends_ with Charlotte, not become her mother.

Charlotte liked her, telling me that Elizabeth would do all sorts of things with her. She'd sit down with her and draw, she'd play board games with her, she'd push her on the swings outside. In short, Charlotte thought Elizabeth was _cool, _nothing like her _boring _Mom and Dad.

She told me one night that when Angela picked Charlotte up from daycare one Friday, not a word passed between them. Elizabeth said Angela just kinda… stared at her, like she was a bedsore you couldn't help but notice was festering.

Sure, Elizabeth was nice enough, but I knew there was no way I was going to be able to love her the same way I had loved Angela. Angela had stood by me through things that no human being should have to witness. I mean, when Clay Dobson was still running rampant around New York she immediately took Charlotte to Jersey for their own safety. At first she had flat out refused to go anywhere, she wanted to be my support system.

But eventually she had gone, because I had _asked_ her to.

As I spent more time with Elizabeth, I realized that there was nothing that could be done to salvage our relationship. She loved children, ran the daycare center; she was smart, charismatic, funny, good looking…

But I was still in love with Angela, and I knew I was. Why else would I still be in contact with her? Because of our daughter? Well, yeah, there's Charlotte, but if I didn't care about Angela I would only do the bare minimum in terms of keeping in contact.

I hadn't wanted a divorce… I was sure we could have worked it out, but she had run.

She just hadn't told me what she was running from. What was she afraid of?

That night, after I had phoned Angela to say goodnight to Charlotte, I sat down with Elizabeth at the kitchen table and explained everything. I admit she was hurt, but she nodded her head as though she understood.

"Losing someone so close to you is never easy…" she answered. "Angela was obviously someone you loved very much, and it's difficult to move on… I understand that perfectly," she waited for me to say something, but I waited for her to finish. "Look, Don," she reached out and placed her hand on mine. "You're not ready for another relationship, please don't rush yourself."

We both got up. I walked her to the door, kissed her cheek and watched as she walked down my driveway to her car. When she drove away, I immediately grabbed my shoes and keys and drove over to Angela's apartment.

Knowing Charlotte was sleeping, I very lightly knocked on the door, knowing either the lights would flicker or she would feel the vibrations through the floor. I guess she must've felt the vibrations through the floor because it took her about two minutes to come answer the door.

"Don?" she signs. She's wrapped in her housecoat. She must have been curled on the couch reading… she did that sometimes. I would come home late and find her waiting for me.

"Angela," I sign back. "I wanted you to know…" I paused, trying to find the courage to tell her what had happened. "Elizabeth and I aren't together."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"Because I still love you," I told her.

She blinked. "Come again?"

"I still love you…" I signed again.

She stumbled, looking for the right words. She seemed taken aback, not quite sure what to think. I waited, until finally she looked back at me and signed.

"I still love you too." She leaned forward, took my hand, and let me into the apartment.

I reached behind me, closed the door, and felt my lips connect with hers.

She tasted on strawberries.


	13. Hero Heroine

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view. You'll see how much he's changed, and how much he wants to improve... I think you'll like this chapter.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Boys Like Girls, haven't we been through this already?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_I won't try to philosophize  
I'll just take a deep breath and I'll look in your eyes  
This is how I feel  
And it's so surreal  
I got a closet filled up to the brim  
With the ghosts of my past and the skeletons  
And I don't know why  
You'd even try  
But I won't lie_

Hero/Heroine- Boys Like Girls

* * *

When I first met Angela, I wasn't sure how to react. She was smart, beautiful, and had the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. I'd never thought I'd be with someone who understood me so completely. 

Angela Baker was my match, and I'd been stupid enough to let her go.

When we divorced I hadn't contested her decision… we'd decided it was best for Charlotte if we divorced, because we didn't want her to grow up surrounded with the notion that parents fight, therefore it's normal. Of course we'd hit rough patches before, but that one rough patch we just _couldn't get through._

Now it all seemed to disappear as I kissed her again.

Her eyes opened and she smiled.

Finally, we were at peace together.

Angela and I both knew that we would have to work at it. Learning to trust each other again was going to be a long and arduous process. After all, we had divorced, had other partners, attempted to 'find ourselves', but in the end we ended up right back where we had started.

In each other's arms.

"Should we tell Charlotte?" I whispered. I can only assume she was reading my lips.

She reached up and put a finger to my lips. Very slowly, she shook her head 'no'. If Charlotte saw us like this she would _really_ be confused. Angela and I went back together, _per se_, we had just taken the first step.

Nodding, I let go of her and moved toward the door. On my way out, I smiled at her again. Whatever we had now was precious, and I knew it. I didn't want to let it, or Angela, go.

I could only hope that I could hold on to her.

The next morning I rolled over to hear my phone ringing. Lifting my head, I glanced at the clock and noticed it was about 7AM.

"Huh?"

"Good morning Daddy!"

I smiled at myself.

"Good morning, Princess. How are you?" I rolled over out of bed and walked into the bathroom. I turned the water on and wet my toothbrush, putting toothpaste on just after.

"Good…" she answered. I waited a few seconds until she started speaking again. "Daddy, I want to go to the zoo today. Can we go to the zoo?"

I spit into the sink and ran the water again to wash it down the drain. "I'm sorry, honey, Daddy has to work today."

"Oh…" she sounded disappointed. I don't blame her. I would _love_ to go to the zoo with her, but damn those psychos who decide the only way to live is to take the lives of innocent people make it hard to do so. I remember this one case where the little girl had been jumping rope in front of her house when someone had grabbed her, shoved her into the back of a truck and driven away.

Someone had been jogging with their dog and found her body three days later.

Angela had just given birth to Charlotte a week before, I was on my first day back, and it tore me inside and out. When Hawkes examined the body she said the little girl was only four years old.

The perp wasn't very smart. He'd left DNA behind at the crime scene. When we caught him I busted his balls till he cracked. I'd made sure he was never getting out of prison. In my opinion, murdering a helpless child made you more despicable than serial rapists or a cult leader convincing his band of 'followers' to commit mass suicide in order to catch a ride on the back of a spaceship headed for the moon.

I went home that day and cradled my baby girl in my arms as Angela slept.

"I'll cut down the trees so no boys can sneak into your room when you turn sixteen…" I told her.

Charlotte only gurgled in response.

I would do _anything_, and I mean _anything,_ to protect my girls.

"Well, how about this…" I shut the water off and heading back into my bedroom. "If your mom says its okay, why don't you come to work with me today?"

"Okay, I'll go ask…" she put the phone down and went off to find her mother.

Instead of Charlotte picking the phone up, I felt my phone vibrate. Angela had switched on the video phone.

"We're going to visit my mother today, Don…"

"I don't see why we can't do both…" I reasoned. "What time are you done at your mother's?"

"Around noon."

"So… bring Charlotte by for lunch…" I answered. "I'm sure the team would love to see her."

I saw her ponder for a second.

"Sure…" she answered. "I'll meet you in the lab at 12:30."

So the next afternoon I waited by the lab doors for Angela to arrive. When she did, she unloaded Charlotte, took her hand, and walked her into the lab.

"Daddy!" she cried, letting go of Angela and running toward me.

"Hey!" I opened my arms as she jumped and I wrapped her in a bear hug. When I set her down, I noticed she was carrying a brown paper bag. "What's in the bag, Charlotte?"

"I made you lunch, Daddy!" her smile was enough to melt the polar ice caps. She was so proud of herself.

"You did?" I smiled. Whatever she made, whether it be bologna and cheese or melted crayons on bread, I was going to eat it. I was hungry, and I wouldn't disappoint her.

"What'd you make?" I asked, taking the bed from her and took a peak.

"I made nine peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!" she proudly announced.

"Nine?" I looked again and counted in my head. She wasn't kidding; there were exactly nine peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in that bag. "All for me? Thank you…"

"No Daddy, not all for you!" she giggled, knowing I was making a joke. "I made lunch for _everybody!"_ she took the bag back. "For Uncle Mac and Peyton, and Auntie Stella and Uncle Danny and Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Hawkes!"

I looked over and saw Angela smiling. "Will you have her back before 9:00?" she signed.

"Of course…" I signed back, no indication of what had happened the night before.

As Angela went back outside, I took my daughter's hand and led her to the break room.

"You know, I think everyone is looking forward to seeing you…" I told her. "And I think they'll like the lunch you made." We entered the break room, where seven greedy hands each reached in and took a sandwich.

She smiled at me again, and I knew, as I'd known all along.

Charlotte was the best thing that could've ever happened to me.

No, lemme rephrase that. Charlotte and her _mother_ were the best things to ever happen to me.

And I wasn't going to lose them again.


	14. Alive

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). I would've had this up last night but it was my prom (formal), so it didn't happen. This chapter is told from Angela's point of view, and the last line from the previous chapter will certainly come into play here. **

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Edwin, haven't we been through this before?**

* * *

_Angels working overtime  
Day or night to hold the hands that bled all alone  
A babe is born pure to the world as the old man lays down his head  
And closes his eyes with nothing said  
Every year another promise is made  
A pint of beer raised towards a better day  
Lets find a star, a star to call our own  
And make a wish, maybe we can make it home_

Alive- Edwin

* * *

I knew that, by driving away, Don and the team were going to take excellent care of her… they always did. Mac and the rest of the people Don worked with loved Charlotte to death. 

Charlotte had come to my mother and asked to work on a 'special project'. My mother bent down and listened as Charlotte whispered her plan to her.

My mother's mouth contracted in an O of understanding. She smiled and looked over at me.

"It's a grandma thing…" she signed.

I smiled back, nodding and leaving the kitchen.

About half and hour later I came back from upstairs and saw my daughter waiting by the door, a brown paper lunch bag in her hands.

"All ready to go, Mommy!" she announced as she signed. She was picking it up, slowly, but she was picking it up.

"Okay," she went out to the car, said goodbye to my mother, and drove back to New York. It wasn't a very long drive. Every so often I would glance back and see Charlotte looking at a book we kept in the car, a couple of times she'd put it down and looked out the window.

After dropping her off at the lab with Don, I went off to the market. Charlotte had asked me to pick up some apples and grapes. Actually, she'd really taken a shine to frozen grapes. She'd have those for snacks, and she'd even gotten her dad onto them too.

I felt someone tap my shoulder as I went through the rows upon rows of fresh fruit and vegetables. Turning around, I came face to face with someone I hadn't seen for a very long time.

"Katie?" I signed

"Angela?" her mouth dropped open. "Oh my Goodness! You look amazing!"

I smiled. "It's good to see you too."

"Last I heard you were married to a cop and had a baby…" Katie signed. "By the way, where is she?"

I winced. "Oh, uh… Charlotte is spending the day with her dad."

Katie nodded. "You and Don? Is that his name? Well I heard from Carrie, who works on the same floor as you, do you know Carrie?"

"I know Carrie," I answered. I _knew_ her, sure, but that doesn't mean I have to _enjoy_ working with her. All I ever saw her in were short skirts and barely-there tops that worked true to their name. Her tops barely held her cleavage in. She flirted with every available male that walked by. She even tried to get Don into bed when he and I were still married. Needless to say she backed off after I threatened to give her a split lip. _Of course_ I knew Carrie, the bitch who tried to convince me that she and Don were having an affair so I would leave him and she could make a move. News flash honey, Don is a _detective_, _we_ are crime reporters, _detectives _search for evidence, and I knew how to find it. There was _no_ evidence of an affair whatsoever, so the claim was dead before it even got up off the ground.

I'm not jealous of Don's flirting, no. I knew he was a flirt when I married him, actually I thought it was cute. I just don't like Carrie; in fact I can't stand her.

"Well, she said that you and Don were practically attached at the hip!"

I grimaced. "Well, Katie…" I started. "Don and I divorced a few months ago."

Her mouth dropped open in shock.

"But I still love him…" I told her. "We agreed we were going to give it another try."

Katie nodded. "There's a café just down the street…" she signed, pointing to the little Mom and Pop operation that adorned the corner near the fruit and vegetable stand where we were standing. "Want to go grab some coffee? You can tell me all about it."

I nodded. Handing my money over to the vender, I paid for the apples, grapes, and I'd picked up some fresh cucumbers and carrots too, and Katie and I went off.

Sitting down with our coffee, I proceeded to tell her everything. About how we'd started out fine, how Charlotte loved being with us, how things had started to deteriorate, and finally how everything had finally come to a head when I had thrown that glass at him as he went out the door to work. I'd handed him divorce papers that same night.

Katie said nothing… she listened intently as my fingers flew.

That was probably a lot of information to take in at once, but Katie waited until I was done. We drank our coffee, discussing love, life, kids, marriage, men… anything we wanted.

When I finally looked at my watch, and realized that I should probably call Don to see how Charlotte was doing. When I did, Don quickly switched on the video phone. From the look on his face something wasn't right.

"Angela, come pick Charlotte up as soon as is humanly possible!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Phony gas leak in the lab. We're trying to negotiate with IRA extremists…"

"_What!" _My hands were flying once again as I bounded out of my seat. Leaving Katie dumbfounded, I grabbed whatever I could and ran back to my car. I didn't care how fast I was going, or how many laws I was breaking to get there, all I knew was that _I needed to get to my baby._

When I was only a block from the lab I was suddenly stuck in traffic. I could see literally the thousands of people who were clogging the streets.

"I don't have time for this!" I got out of the car and ran as fast as I could to the lab. Everyone was outside; the sidewalk was literally a sea of people. My eyes found Sid and Peyton, Lindsay had joined them, but I still couldn't see Don and Charlotte.

As I made my way closer to the door, I suddenly spotted them surrounded by police vehicles. Charlotte was in Don's arms, her own arms wrapped around his neck. I could tell from her body language that she was crying.

"Don!" I shouted. It hurt to yell, my lisp made it difficult. Running over to them, he enveloped me in a tight but quick hug and handed Charlotte to me. Unsure of what was happening, she screamed.

"Mommy's got you, Charlotte!" Again, I was speaking, and it hurt. I looked to Don, whose determination to keep Charlotte and I safe had never wavered.

"Get her out of here, Angela! Get her home!" his hands flew; his tone aggressive. It was unintentional, he was worried.

"But…"

"GO!" he turned from us and ran toward the building, when all of a sudden an explosion threw him backward into his cruiser, a piece of debris flying toward him and pinning him to the hood.

"Don!" I screamed, keeping Charlotte away.

Dear God, no!

What was I going to do?


	15. Everything You Want

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is again told from Angela's point of view. It shows how emotional she is, and how she's coping with what's happened, and who does she end up leaning on for support? I'll give you three seconds to guess.**

**ONE... TWO... THREE...**

**Not going to tell you! HA HA, got you, didn't I? You must READ to find out.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Vertical Horizon, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_Somewhere there's speaking  
It's already coming in  
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind  
You never could get it  
Unless you were fed it  
Now you're here and you don't know why _

_But under skinned knees and the skid marks  
Past the places where you used to learn  
You howl and listen  
Listen and wait for the  
Echoes of angels who won't return_

Everything You Want- Vertical Horizon

* * *

"Alright, move! Move! Get those people out of here!" I read Mac's lips as he secured the scene. EMS was already prepping Don and moving him into the ambulance. I covered Charlotte's ears and kept her away from the ambulance. I didn't want her to see her dad in this state. 

She thought her dad hung the moon. Don was her hero, and it needed to be kept that way. I didn't know what was going to happen to the man I loved, because right now, it was my job to take care of our daughter.

I left the scene (with Mac's permission, of course) and took her to my mother's house in Jersey. Without taking too much time or giving too much away, I raced back to New York and went to Bellevue Medical Center. Mac, Peyton, and everyone else were waiting outside his hospital room.

I was terrified. As much as I hated to admit it, I was terrified. I wanted Don to come back to me, because I loved him, and I wanted him to be there to see our daughter grow up. When he was finally out of surgery I pleaded with his doctors to let me sit with him.

"I can't let you see him unless you're family…"

"I'm his wife!" I blurted, signing at the same time. "I'm the mother of his child, is _that_ family enough?"

The doctor nodded and let me through to see him. I felt tears well in my eyes as I found a chair and brought it up beside his bed. When I sat down the tears overflowed.

"I need you, don't leave me…" I silently pleaded with him.

I took his hand in mine and kissed his forehead. The tears were coming steadily now.

"Please don't leave me…" I silently begged. "I need you… the lab needs you… Charlotte needs you… we _all_ need you…"

It was late now, the lights in his room were out, but I stayed. Charlotte would be fine for the night; my mom could put her to sleep, because right now, Don needed me.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was.

Mac had his hand on my shoulder.

"Do you want to go get some rest, Angela?" he signed to me. The entire lab had learned sign language so they could communicate with me, although I wasn't readily accepted. No matter what people say, in terms of "I'm not judging you", or "Don't worry, I like you", when they really don't, at least not that well, you _will_ be judged to some degree. It had taken them a while, but as soon as I brought Charlotte to the lab for the first time, I knew they loved both Charlotte and myself.

"No…" I told him. "I'm fine here. If we need anything I'll send you a text message." Not _everyone_ would have a video phone, so a text was the next best thing.

"You've been sitting up with him since he got here, which was more than six hours ago," he tried to reason with me.

"Mac, I'll be fine," I insisted again, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but right now, Don needs me, and I have to be with him."

Mac nodded. As a former Marine, he knew the importance of loyalty.

This wasn't exactly loyalty, not to the same degree.

This was love.

This was what people went through when they loved someone. Don loved Charlotte and me _so much_, that he had given our daughter to me and told me to take her home to protect her.

But then the explosion had wracked his body and thrown him into the police cruiser, and a large piece of debris had landed on his chest.

I don't remember the ride to the hospital, or taking Charlotte back to my car and driving her to my mother's house, all I remember is driving back to the hospital and crying as I waited to know whether or not the man I loved had survived.

Mac got me to stand up and wrapped me in a tight hug. When he left, I turned back to Don, who looked almost nothing like the man I'd fallen in love with. When I'd met him he was smiling his cheeky grin (which Charlotte had inherited), his blue eyes shone like crystals, his hands rough but gentle; he had the hands of a seasoned police officer. Now, he just looked vulnerable, and I could see the tension in his face. His jaw looked like it had been smashed in the explosion; there was a long stitch line running from behind his ear to the cleft in his chin, his eyes were swollen shut, and the doctors had said that even if he _did_ wake up, there might be some memory loss.

_Even if he _did _wake up?_

I refused to accept the fact that the father of my child and the man I knew I was hopelessly in love with would never wake up. Don Flack wouldn't leave me or Charlotte behind, he loved us too much, he'd said so on many an occasion.

I leaned forward and took his hand once again. Turning his wrist so that his palm was exposed, I carefully began to spell words into it; much like Annie Sullivan had done with Helen Keller.

_Don, I know you can't see me…_ I spelled letter by letter into his palm. _But we need you… so badly. _I kept going._ If you can feel what I'm spelling in your palm, squeeze my hand…_ I stopped and waited.

Nothing yet.

_Please._ I signed into his hand again. _Let me know you're in there… squeeze my hand._

I stopped and waited again.

When nothing happened, the tears began to fall even faster. A few tears even dropped on to his open palm.

"Please don't leave me, I need you…" I pleaded with him. It still hurt to speak, my lisp even more pronounced because I was so emotional.

I felt another hand on my shoulder.

Don's parents, Stephanie and Don Sr. had come in.

"Come on, Angela, you need a break." Stephanie signed.

"No!" I flat out refused, not even bothering to sign back. Screw the sign language; I was going to speak, no matter how much it hurt. Sign language wasn't going to do _anything_ for anyone right now. "What if he wakes up and I'm not here?" the tears were running down my face as I looked at Stephanie and Don Sr. "He was _always _by my side when _I _needed him… he would only get up to go to the bathroom. He needs me now, I can't leave…"

"Honey, if you don't take a break you'll wear yourself into hysterics," Stephanie reasoned, "that won't do anyone any good."

"_I need to stay here."_ I insisted, not knowing why I was crying anymore. Was I crying because I was scared? Angry? Unsure? Was I crying because I couldn't stand the thought of never seeing Don open his eyes again? My hand seemed permanently attached to his as I refused to let him go.

But then, I just stopped fighting it. Don's father took me by the shoulders and got me to stand up. He wrapped me in his strong arms and let me cry.

I had to be strong for Don, but right now I needed to cry.

Right now, I wanted to cry.


	16. I Am

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view, which I'll admit was pretty hard to write considering the condition he's in right now. I promise things will get better, it just takes a little time. **

**Don't own them, never will, original characters belong to me, song belongs to Nickelback, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_How you spend your minutes are what matters  
All tomorrows come from yesterday's  
When you're feeling broke and bruised and sometimes shattered  
Blow out the candles on the cake like everything's a big mistake  
It seems you always wait for life to happen  
And your last buck can't buy a lucky break  
If all we've got is us then life's worth living  
And if you're in, you know I'm in  
I'm ready and I'm willing _

_I Am  
When you think that no one needs you  
Sees you or believes you  
No one's there to understand  
I Am  
I'll be there to be that someone  
When you think that no one, is there to hold your hand  
I Am_

I Am- Bon Jovi

* * *

_Squeeze my hand if you can hear me. _Angela was pleading with me. _Squeeze my hand if you can hear me…_

I can hear her, she's talking to me, and I know it hurts her. I'm trying, but I can't bring my fingers to move.

I can hear her crying. Oh my love, please don't cry, I'm still here.

"Its okay, Angela."

Mom? Dad? They're here too? Where's Charlotte? Did Angela drop her off at her mom's? I want to know. The last thing I remember is the explosion and finding myself pinned against the car.

I want so badly to open my eyes and look Angela in the face, let her know I'm okay. I groan, hoping that maybe I can get some sort of response.

"Donnie?"

That's my Ma. No one calls me Donnie except for my Ma.

"Son?"

That's my Pop.

"Don?"

The sweetest voice I've heard all night. That's my Angela. I remember her… I love her, I want to be in her arms again. I felt Angela take my hand.

"Squeeze my hand if you can hear me…"

I felt my fingers move and squeeze her hand. I'd done it! I was still there!

I heard her start to cry. The only times I remembered her crying was when I asked her to marry me, when Charlotte was born, and when she'd handed me divorce papers.

Wait a minute, we were divorced?

But she'd said she was my wife when she'd asked to come sit with me, why would she say she was my wife if we were divorced? She should've said ex-wife, but would they have let her in if she had said ex-wife?

"I love you Don…" she whispered, her lisp prominent.

"I wish I could see you." I told her.

She must've read my lips; I remember she did that sometimes when people didn't know how to sign.

"You can't honey," she answered. "Your eyes are swollen shut."

No wonder.

"The doctor says the swelling will go down in a couple of days," Angela told me. "I'll bring Charlotte to see you then."

"Where is she?"

"She's with my mom," she reassured me. "I came here and sat with you."

"Why?" I asked. If she was my ex-wife she didn't need to do that.

"Because I love you, Don," she tearfully explained. Now I remembered. We'd said we were going to give it another try, because we were both still in love.

"Why is Charlotte with your mom?"

"But your Mom and Dad are here too," she told me. "Can you hear them?"

"Of course I can hear them!" I answered, more harshly then I meant it. "I want to be able to _see, _that's what's pissing me off!"

Angela's put her hand on my forehead. Her hands are cool, she's not shaking, but her breathing is heavy. "I know," she whispers to me. "I know you're frustrated, but you're here, I was so worried you weren't going to wake up."

I felt my lips curl into a smile. "I wouldn't leave you or Charlotte…" My shoulders were starting to heave.

"Shhh… I know…" her hand moved to my hair, trying to calm me down. "I know you wouldn't."

"Why didn't I die in that explosion?" I asked her, the tears starting to run down my face. "You would have been better off without me."

"How can you say that?" she answered, "_I love you, Don Flack._ If you had died in that explosion I don't know what I would've done. Charlotte needs you, _I _need you; please tell me Don, how could you possibly think that we would be better off without you?"

I didn't hear my Ma or Pop in the room anymore, so they must've left and me and Angela were the only ones left.

"Because I'll be a cripple when I get outta this," I explained.

"You don't know that, Don," she told me. "The doctor told me you'd be able to walk with therapy after you get out of here…"

"We can't afford it!"

Did I just say _we_?

"Don't worry, Don, our medical insurance will take care of it."

_Our_ medical insurance? She keeps referring to everything as _ours._ I thought we'd divorced. I remember signing the divorce papers, and I remember sharing custody of Charlotte, and I remember agreeing to try again, but I don't remember taking my name off the medical insurance, or Angela doing the same.

"I don't want to let you down, Angela…" I told her. "I couldn't stand to look at myself if I let you down."

"You could never let me down, Don, you never have…" she told me. "You've always been there for Charlotte and I, and now it's my turn to be strong for you…"

Her hand moved to my eyes, I could feel it. She wiped my tears away.

"Go to sleep, Don, I'll be here when you wake up…" she promised me.

Angela never breaks her promises.


	17. Superheroes

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Angela's point of view.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Edguy, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_City lights are calling  
Slowly coming back to life  
Speeding in the fast lane  
Mama let us waste no time_

Devil in the doorway selling any kind of hell  
We're just coming out to play the game

_We never cry for love - we're superheroes  
We are back where we belong  
We never cry for pain - we're superheroes  
Make a stand where we belong_

Superheroes- Edguy

* * *

The swelling in his eyes had gone down a few days later, and I had sat with him day and night. My mom had graciously agreed to baby-sit Charlotte for the week, never once did she utter a foul word about the situation. Her opinion of Don may have changed, but now that we were agreeing to try again my mom thought he hung the moon, much like Charlotte did. 

I remember the day he awoke and spoke to me for the first time in a very long time.

"You can take the icepack off now, Angel, I can open my eyes…"

He hadn't called me Angel since Charlotte was born.

When I moved the ice, he looked at me, his face still red and his eyes still bruised, and smiled.

"You're even more beautiful than I remember…"

I smiled, tears coming to my eyes. He reached up and gently stroked my cheek. "You have beautiful eyes."

I let out a single cry and a smile as a tear rolled down my cheek.

"Why are you crying?" he asked me, his hand cupping my cheek.

"Because you can see me now…" I signed, the tears still rolling down my face. "I never thought you'd come back to me, Don, I was so scared."

He forced a smile. "Angel, I love you…"

"I love you too, Don," I answered, my lisp making it difficult to speak. "Please don't scare me like that again."

He grimaced and let his hand fall. "I won't…" he told me. "I never meant to…"

"You were only trying to protect Charlotte and me," I agreed. "I could never begrudge you that."

My eyes were closing. I was exhausted, and I didn't even know I was exhausted, I didn't even feel it until now. I hadn't slept since Don had been admitted to the hospital. Okay, that's an exaggeration. I had slept _sporadically_ since he was admitted, and I hadn't seen my baby girl since the day of the explosion, when I took her to my mom's place.

Despite being exhausted, I drove to Jersey and picked up my daughter. We arrived at the hospital early in the morning, around 6AM, Charlotte carrying Ellie, her stuffed blue elephant.

"Charlotte," I stopped in front of Don's hospital room and bent down so her eyes connected with mine. "Daddy will look very different when you see him today, okay?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Do you remember that big explosion a few days ago?" I asked, signing as I spoke.

She nodded.

"And I took you to Grandma's house to keep you safe?"

She nodded again. _  
_

"Daddy got very hurt when the building exploded. He took a ride in the ambulance when Mommy was taking you to Grandma's house, and now that Daddy is here, the hospital is making him all better again."

I'm not sure she fully understood.

"Daddy's eyes are hurt, and he can't see very well, so everybody needs to be very careful."

"Mommy too?"

"Mommy too," I echoed. I took her small hand in mine and opened Don's hospital room door. He was still asleep, a plastic bottle of apple juice on his bedside table. I watch as Charlotte very carefully climbed up on to his bed beside him and hugged him softly.

"Daddy, wake up…" she pleads with him. "Please wake up."

"Charlotte," I move to get her off the bed, putting my hands under her armpits to lift her up.

She shakes her head no.

"Wanna stay with Daddy…" she insisted.

"Will Ellie do?" I ask.

"Nope," Charlotte answers. "I stay if Ellie stays."

So I let her stay on that bed. I waited until Don stirred. Charlotte felt it, because she immediately sat up.

"Daddy?" she asked.

"Hmmh?" he grunted in response. Neither of us had gotten much sleep, he had been in a drug-induced coma and was only now starting to establish a somewhat regular sleep pattern. I however, had been sitting watch over him and had refused to sleep until I knew he was going to be fine for the night.

"You awake Daddy?" she asked.

He grunted in response again. I could see the movement in his lips as he and Charlotte spoke.

"You thirsty Daddy?"

Always looking out for her dad. I watched as she rolled over and carefully lifted the glass of apple juice to hand to him.

"Here Daddy," she shifted herself over to him, using two hands at all times, like Don and I had always told her. She waited until he took it with both hands and sipped from it. It hadn't even gone down before he reached for the basin.

"Did I do something wrong, Daddy?" she asked, tears in her eyes. She didn't understand why her dad was throwing up when she had only given him apple juice.

"No honey," I answered as Don lay back on his pillows again. "No, it's just… Daddy's medicine is still working, and sometimes Daddy's body says 'I already have all this medicine in me and it needs to work, so no apple juice'." I explained as calmly as I could.

"What kind of medicine?" she looked to Don.

"Big people medicine…" he answered, still groggy, turning his head on the pillow.

"But why does it make you feel all yucky inside?" Already Charlotte was concerned, and of course she would be. This was her _dad_ we were talking about here… if her dad wasn't healthy she wasn't happy.

Daddies are supposed to be superheroes, and superheroes don't get sick! Daddy the superhero ran around New York making it safe from all the bad guys and put them in jail so that all the children and other people would be safe.

If Daddy was sick who would protect New York from the bad guys?

Oh, I know exactly how she feels. I once thought that my dad hung the moon, until he found someone new and walked out on my mother, leaving her to raise me herself in a poorer district of Brooklyn, New York, in a shady building where I never felt like I was safe.

But now, as I sat next to Don, my detective, I realized that he was never going to do what my father did, he wasn't like that. He had shown me time and time again that he loved both Charlotte and I too much to do something like that.

And now, as he lay in a hospital bed, Charlotte reading him a passage from 'Children's Classic Fairytales', I knew that Don was most certainly the man for me, and I began to wonder:

How in the hell had I ever managed to let him go?


	18. Final Answer

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view, and deals with his homecoming after recovering from the explosion.**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to The Calling, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_I want love  
To carry me through  
All the moments, I'd kindly undo  
Locked away  
So I can feel safe  
Now that I'm down on my knees, begging for a change  
Look down at the water  
Before I jump in  
To find I was sinking fast, in all that might have been_

_What I need now is an honest answer, to make things better  
You can see now my hands are tied, and I surrender  
So I'll wait here for your final answer, your final answer  
_

_Is there love without hate  
Is there pleasure without pain?  
I have seen all my mistakes  
I cast you out, but now, I want you back  
So light me again, cause my heart is turning black_

Final Answer- The Calling

* * *

I don't really remember how I got home; I just know that Angela and Charlotte were there when I checked out, and as I was unlocking the front door, she didn't turn to go back to the car. 

"Nope," she signed. "There's no way you're going to be able to care for yourself the first day out of the hospital…"

"So you're staying?"

"Yep."

I always found it easier not to fight it and listen to her. If she insisted on staying, she was going to stay. I had always credited this as one of her most endearing qualities: she was loyal.

Charlotte took my hand as soon as we stepped in the door. "Daddy, it's bedtime for you!" she literally dragged me to my bedroom and pulled back the blanket. "The doctor says that you need to sleep, because the medicine is still working!" she made me lie down and would not let me up.

"No!" she insisted each time I tried to sit up. "Mommy and I are going to take care of you!"

"Yes ma'am!" I chuckled, burrowing deeper beneath the blankets.

"Now you stay there Daddy and I'll bring you some soup!" Charlotte bounded out of the room. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I quickly dialed Danny and eyed the door, in case Charlotte came back before I was finished.

"Messer…"

"Hey Danny…"

"Hey Flack, how're ya doin'?" he asked.

"Charlotte's turned into 'Doctor Charlotte'," I explained. "I am, as of today, _not_ allowed out of bed unless she says so, and I'm technically not supposed to be phoning you right now, but…" I eyed the door. Charlotte wasn't anywhere in sight. "Help!"

I heard him chuckle. "Hey Stell!" he called to her, laughing. "Our goddaughter's turned into a doctor!"

Now Stella was laughing.

"Thanks…" I rolled my eyes. Hanging up, Charlotte reappeared with a glass of water in her hands, and Angela carried a bowl of soup. She set it down on my nightstand as Charlotte handed me the water.

I set the water down so both hands were free.

"There's no way I'm gettin' outta this, is there?" I signed.

Angela smirked and shook her head. "Nope," she signed back, leaning forward and kissing my forehead. "Doctor Charlotte's orders…"

I sighed. Perfect… even _Angela_ was going along with this.

She leaned forward so she was close to my ear. "I'll stop her before she gets too carried away."

"How far is too far?" I asked.

"When she refuses to let you go to the bathroom…" she smirked again.

I groaned. This was _not nice_.

She was right. It wasn't long before Charlotte was refusing to let me to the bathroom.

"Charlotte," Angela finally stepped in. "Even Daddies who are sick need to get up to go to the bathroom."

"But the doctor said…"

"I don't think Daddy's doctor is going to get mad if Daddy gets up to go to the bathroom."

"Okay…" she seemed apprehensive, like she didn't trust me to actually get back into bed after going to the washroom.

"Why don't you go play with your dolls, honey? Maybe you could have a tea party." Angela says to our daughter. She smiles and rushes to her bedroom. I hear her door shut.

I shake my head and smile at Angela in gratitude.

"Thank you," I mouth.

She smiles. "I had to do something… you were nearly dying there."

I get up and gently grip her forearms. I lean forward and kiss her forehead.

She giggled.

"Can I go now?" I smirk.

"Yeah, go…" she motions toward the washroom, which has always been adjacent to the bedroom anyway.

I don't even bother to shut the door completely… it's not as though Angela's uncomfortable with it, at least, I don't _think_ she is. She's never said anything about being uncomfortable.

Just to be safe, I reach and close the door the rest of the way.

When I finish and I've washed up, I run my hands under the water once again and splash cold water on my face to wake myself up.

I fully realize that I'd been a fool to let Angela go in the first place, and now I was paying for it. I loved her, but why was it so difficult to move forward with this? With what we had?

One step forward, two steps back.

I shut the tap off and dry my face with the nearest towel. I take a deep breath and prepare to face the woman I know I shouldn't have left behind again.

Opening the bathroom door, she's putting some folded laundry back into the drawers. When she finishes, I gently grip her forearms again, but this time I lean forward and softly kiss her on the mouth.

I pull away, and she seems shocked. When my hands start to move in sign she stays still; she's unsure of what I'm doing. Hell, _I _don't know what I'm doing.

"Angela," I sign. "I've done a lot of things that I'm not proud of, but I have to tell you that having you in my life is one of the things I'm most proud of," I waited to see her reaction.

She was waiting.

"Charlotte is the best thing that could've happened to us…" I continued. "And I still don't know why we let each other go."

"I don't know either," she signed back.

"So, now I'm asking you, Angela," I kept going. "Marry me, make our family complete."

Her mouth dropped open.


	19. My Last Name

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Angela's point of view, and it deals with the family, and their last names. **

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Dierks Bentley, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_Daddy always told me far back as I recall,  
Son, your part of somethin', you represent us all,  
So keep it how you got it , as solid as it came,  
It's my last name _

Passed down from generations too far back to trace,  
I can see all my relations when I look into my face,  
May never make it famous but I'll never bring it shame,  
It's my last name

My Last Name- Dierks Bentley

* * *

The Flack family name is very well respected in the NYPD. Don's father, Don Sr. is considered a legend within said department. However, Don Jr. always insisted that he not be treated any differently than someone who did not have a relative on the force. He was loyal, great with children, loved his job, came from a good family, he was Don Flack. 

And he was asking me to marry him.

I didn't know what to say. What _could_ I say? Yes didn't seem like it was enough, and babbling made it seem like I was indifferent.

"Can I take your silence as a yes?" he signed.

I nodded my head. He gently placed a finger under my chin and pushed. My mouth closed as a result. Before I could turn Don suddenly brought out a ring box.

Had he been planning this?

He opened the box and there, set in the silk, was a My Solitaire Platinum setting band with a princess cut accent.

It was so beautiful I felt tears welling in my eyes. As he slipped the ring on to my finger I placed a hand on his cheek, looked him in the eyes, and met his lips with a kiss.

He pulled away and smiled at me.

I didn't waste any time. I pulled him to me and ended up in his arms the next morning.

When I awoke Don wasn't there beside me. I quickly sat up and looked around.

Nothing.

I got up and wrapped myself in the housecoat hanging on the back of the door. When I reached the kitchen I saw Don and Charlotte standing at the stove, a bowl set between them.

Suddenly she was jumping up and down.

"Bluenana pancakes!" I read her lips.

What in the world is a bluenana pancake?

I come up behind Don and hug him close.

"Good morning," I greet them, my lisp not as prominent this morning.

"Mommy!" Charlotte came bounding toward me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and smiled. "Daddy's making bluenana pancakes!"

I shook my head and bent down so she could see me. "Sweetie, you have to tell me what a bluenana pancake is."

"Um…" she stumbled. "You mix blueberries and bananas up in pancake mix and cook em in the pan and then you eat em!"

I nodded my head. The pancakes sounded absolutely delicious. I think she'd said something about them before, but if she did I don't remember.

"Okay," I signed. "Is Daddy being all nice and letting you help?"

She nodded yes.

My mother was right. With her big blue eyes and dark hair, Charlotte looked exactly like Don. If you sat them side by side, you wouldn't be able to tell that she was my daughter. She was picking up on sign language too. When she spoke to me she used her hands more than just speaking.

"I flipped the pancakes!" she signed, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"That's great honey," I signed back as Don shut off the stove and turned to me.

"I know something else we could flip…" he signed.

"Don!" I reprimanded. "Not in front of Charlotte…" I chuckled. "She can see what you're saying."

"What are you talking about? Can I talk too?" she came over to us and signed with us.

"I was just telling Mommy how much I love her," I read Don's lips. He kissed me just after to make a point.

"Eeww, Mommy and Daddy are making kissie face!" I saw her balk.

I giggled.

"Mommy, I love you too!" she came between Don and me and hugged me tightly. "I love you even more than bluenana pancakes!"

"Well it's nice to know I'm loved more than a breakfast food." I laughed to Don.

We sat down to breakfast together and ate quietly, Charlotte babbling on about what she thought we should do that day.

"Mommy?" she signed to me as Don cleared the table and put the dishes in the sink.

"Yes baby?" I answered.

She looked like she was really working hard on the question. Usually she just kept going; she was a very smart and inquisitive child. Angela actually had the memory of her daughter asking her Uncle Hawkes a few days before why he was brown and didn't look like her mommy or daddy. And Hawkes, knowing that at three and a half years old she meant no harm, sat down with her and told her that he was brown because his family had come from a different continent, Africa, and in Africa most people have darker skin than people in North America because the sun is much hotter and there isn't as much protection from trees and buildings.

"And because there aren't as many trees and buildings," Hawkes had continued, "people in Africa have darker skin to protect themselves from the sun. They don't get sunburned as easily."

Charlotte nodded. "Uncle Hawkes, did I hurt your feelings?"

"No honey," he answered. "Children ask me that all the time. Actually, Edward asked me just a few days before you did."

"I didn't know that."

"Now you do," Hawkes kissed his niece's cheek, "and aren't you glad you know now?"

"Uh huh."

"Okay," he set her back on her feet and got up from the table at which they were sitting. "You run along, and go find your Aunt Lindsay. She brought Paul to play with you today."

The little girl had gone off skipping down the hall.

Now, as they sat at the breakfast table, Angela awaited Charlotte's inquiry.

"Where does your last name come from?"

"My last name or Daddy's last name?"

"_Your_ last name," she insisted. "And Daddy's."

"Well, _my_ last name, before I married your daddy was Baker," I signed, speaking at the same time so she understood me. "And Baker comes from an Old English word meaning 'to dry by heat', like you see in the cookie section at the grocery store. The cooks putting big loaves of bread and sheets of cookies into the big ovens, or when you and I make cookies together at home."

"Oh…" she nodded. "What about Daddy's last name? I wanna know because my last name is like Daddy's."

"I know this one…" Don sat down with us, drying his hands on a dishtowel. Setting the towel down, I saw his hands moving so he could communicate with me as well as our daughter. "_Our _last name, Flack, is Dutch, and it means 'low ground'."

"So… that means that our family is low to the ground?" Charlotte asked. "Is all our family short?"

I saw him laugh. "No sweetie. I don't think low ground means anything anymore. It's just something people made up to make it sound neat."

"Oh okay," Charlotte got down off the chair and left the kitchen, running upstairs and shutting her door. Probably playing with her dolls again, practicing puppet shows that she would later show us when we were at work.

"Angela," Don turned to me when she was out of earshot. "I know I don't have much, and I can't offer you much of anything…"

"Oh Don, that's not true," I protested, kissing his cheek. "You gave me the world once, and now you're offering it to me again," I looked him in the eyes. "If all you could give Charlotte and I were plastic spoons and a chicken coup I'd be happy, as long as I was with you."

"I can only offer you my life, my love, and my last name."

I smiled, leaning in to kiss him again.

"That's all we need." I told him.


	20. Jesus Take the Wheel

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance) This chapter is told from Flack's point of view**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Carrie Underwood, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_She was driving last Friday on her way to Cincinnati  
On a snow white Christmas Eve  
Going home to see her Mama and her Daddy with the baby in the backseat  
Fifty miles to go and she was running low on faith and gasoline  
It'd been a long hard year  
She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention  
she was going way too fast  
Before she knew it she was spinning on a thin black sheet of glass  
She saw both their lives flash before her eyes  
She didn't even have time to cry  
She was so scared  
She threw her hands up in the air_

Jesus take the wheel  
Take it from my hands  
Cause I can't do this on my own  
I'm letting go  
So give me one more chance  
To save me from this road I'm on  
Jesus take the wheel

Jesus Take the Wheel- Carrie Underwood

_

* * *

_

It wasn't long after Angela and I were planning our second wedding that we started to see things differently once again. We couldn't agree on _anything_, except for the fact that Charlotte was to be our flower girl and that the rest of the team would somehow be involved. She wanted Edward and Paul to be the ring-bearers, and that was fine, I could deal with that. But the _rest_ of it? Nope, no way.

"Why don't we just hire a wedding planner?" I asked.

"Because then the wedding isn't _ours_," she told me. "I want this one to be special."

"We didn't plan our first one," I reasoned. "It was still special then."

"Yes we did! How else would we have gotten the services done in ASL?"

"My _mother_ found that church!" I answered, picking up a bill for the florist. "Even for flowers its 700 bucks! For flowers!"

"Flowers are just one part of it," she signed. "Look, we can either keep fighting over this, or we can step back and look at this tomorrow."

I looked at her, considering it for a moment. "Alright, tomorrow sounds good."

"Are you on call tomorrow?"

"Nope, I'm staying home with you and Charlotte." I confirmed. "If we don't kill each other first."

She laughed. I've always loved her laugh. It was sweet and loud and spoke so highly of her. Charlotte had inherited her laugh.

"Did Charlotte say what she wants to do?"

"She said she wanted a zoo trip tomorrow, since I had to work the day she brought lunch for the lab."

"Oh, I don't think that should be a problem," I answered. "Hey, even I like the zoo."

"Well then why not?" I picked Angela up and carried her up the stairs. "Come on, you, we have a big day tomorrow, wouldn't want you to be all tired out now, would we?" I kissed her cheek.

She giggled again.

The next morning Angela, Charlotte and I all went off to the zoo. And just guess what she wanted to see first?

"I wanna go see all the exzotic fish!"

Angela giggled and bent down in front of her stroller.

"Do you mean exotic?" she signed.

"Yes Mommy," she signed back.

I can only assume that she wanted to see these fish because of Finding Nemo. I swear that DVD _must_ have been scratched and on its last leg by now.

Apparently not. As we made our way to this fish tank she was reciting lines from the beginning of the movie. If I had to listen to that movie one more time I was sure I was going to eat it.

But then I'd have one very unhappy girl on my hands.

To keep Charlotte happy I would live with it.

We arrived at the fish tanks and took the stroller around in circles.

"Where's Nemo?" she asked, getting out of the stroller and walking around the enclosure.

"Why don't we look?" I took her hand in mine and walked with her. "Is it… that one?" I randomly pointed.

"No!"

"That one?"

"No!"

"Alright, let's look here…" I scanned the water looking for that stupid clownfish. "Ah ha, is _that_ him?"

"Yeah!" she squealed, tugging at the camera I held in my hand. "Daddy, take a picture, take a picture!"

I snapped a picture.

"Hey, you two, look over here!" I heard Angela call, her own camera in her hand. Instantly I took Charlotte in my arms and tickled her. Angela snapped the camera just as Charlotte began to laugh and squirm. I knew I was smiling and my mouth was open, but I still wanted to see how it turned out. I wanted a copy that I could frame and put on my desk, so when people walked by they saw my two girls.

And I still stand by my mantra that if anyone touches either Angela or Charlotte, I will kill them with my bare hands, job and badge be damned. No one touches my fiancée or my daughter and gets away with it. I don't trust any Tom, Dick, and Harry walking down the street. As a detective I know that anyone can do anything to anyone, and in New York this was no exception. Everywhere I went I was always cautious, even if I had my gun in my holster. I hated having to use it unless it was absolutely necessary, I didn't want to pull it out for something as trivial as a citizen's arrest.

Angela developed the pictures that same day, and immediately I framed the one of Charlotte and me together in front of the fish tank. I was right, she was laughing, and I was smiling.

But I'm sure no amount of smiles and trips to the zoo would ever measure the happiness I felt just being around Angela and Charlotte again. They were my world, they made me happy.

And today I felt like the happiest man on Earth.

And I couldn't wait to do this all over again. No matter the struggles, the pain, the hardships, the heartbreak, the knowledge that one day I would grow old… I wanted to do this all over again.

And I knew the person I did it over again with would be Angela.


	21. Mayberry

**A/N: UPDATED UPDATED UPDATED (does happy dance). This chapter is told from Flack's point of view once again, with an event that everyone's been waiting for! Tissues are available from the table in the corner. StokesSandersSpeedle, your wish is my command: ABRACADABRA!**

**Don't own them, never will, original characters are mine, song belongs to Rscal Flatts, haven't we been through this before?**

**Reviews always welcome**

* * *

_Sometimes it feels like this world is spinning faster  
Than it did in the old days  
So naturally we have more natural disasters  
From the strain of a fast pace_

Sunday was the day of rest  
Now its one more day for progress  
And we can't slow down  
Cause more is best  
It's all an endless process 

Mayberry- Rascal Flatts

* * *

Everything seemed to go faster and faster as our wedding day approached. Suddenly I was up to my neck in flowers and invitations and place settings and even the _menus_ for the reception. God, it was driving me _crazy!_

I'm just glad that Angela gave in and decided to hire that wedding planner. When she agreed things suddenly went much more smoothly. Now Angela and I weren't at each other's throats all the time and we weren't plotting to kill each other at the end of the day. No wonder so many couples get divorced! Half of them want to kill each other at the end of the day!

But in the end, it was all worth it.

Six months later, November 12th, just a few weeks from Charlotte's fourth birthday, I was in the back of the church fiddling with my tie.

"Hey Don," Danny put a hand on my shoulder. "Relax."

"Easy for you to say…" I mumbled as I dropped my hands and let Danny take over. He tied it nicely and put his hand on my chest.

"Relax, you'll be fine," he assured me. I reached for the knot on the tie again. "No, it doesn't look like a tree trunk."

I chuckled. If I was this nervous, I could only imagine what Angela was going through.

Oh Lord, I didn't even want to _think_ about that!

But, as I said before, when I saw her later that day, it was all worth it.

Danny and Hawkes stood beside me by the alter. Danny was still inspecting my tie as the bridal party made its way down the aisle. Suddenly, I heard the Wedding March sound, and I turned to look down the aisle.

I gulped.

There was Angela, in her cream coloured dress, walking down the aisle on my father's arm. She smiled at me, and I felt my heart jumped into my throat.

She reached me and smiled again. There were tiny tears in her eyes.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the priest asked, signing so Angela could also hear.

"I do," my father answered. He had offered to walk her down the aisle, and Angela had started crying. She said no one had ever offered her something like that. My father joined Angela's and my hands, I kissed his hand in respect. He moved out of the way.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union between Donald Flack Jr. and Angela Baker, in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. If anyone has any reason as to why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The church was silent.

The priest opened the Bible.

"Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offense. There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and endurance. In a word, there are three things that last forever: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of them all is love."

It had always been Angela's favourite passage, and I had promised her that I would somehow have the priest include it in the ceremony.

"The rings please," he motioned to Edward and Paul, who each held up their ring pillows in response. "Don, pick the ring up, and take Angela's hand." I did what I was told. "And repeat after me." This time I would speak slowly so that Angela could understand. I was not going to use an interpreter, and if it took a little longer, so be it.

"I, Donald Flack Jr., take you, Angela Baker…"

"I, Donald Flack Jr., take you, Angela Baker…." I repeated.

"To be my wedded wife."

"To be my wedded wife."

"With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband."

"With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband." I echoed.

"Always will I perform my headship over you even as Christ does over me, knowing that His Lordship is one of the holiest desires for my life. I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care."

I repeated what he said.

"I promise I will live first unto you rather than others. I promise that I will lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. Ever honoring God's guidance by His spirit through the Word, And so throughout life, no matter what may lie ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband."

As I finished my sentence and slipped the ring on to her finger I felt myself almost choking on my tears.

I let go of her hands as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"I, Angela Baker, take you, Donald Flack Jr…." she signed.

I smiled.

"As my wedded husband. With deepest joy I come into my new life with you. As you have pledged to me your life and love, so I too happily give you my life, and in confidence love you as so the Lord proclaims. As is the church in her relationship to Christ, so I will be to you. Donald, I will live first unto our God and then unto you, loving you. God has prepared me for you and so I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you. Therefore, throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful wife."

I watched as she took the ring from Edward's offered ring pillow and slipped it on to my finger. When I looked up at her she was crying tears of joy.

"With the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest joined our hands together. "You may kiss the bride."

I pulled Angela into my arms and kissed her. I have to admit it was the most beautiful kiss I have ever received.

Now I could carry her across the threshold of our home as Mr. and Mrs. Donald Flack once again.


End file.
